Sydney Airports Terminal 2 Passenger Pickup Area Change

Sydney
Airport Corporation have announced that the passenger pickup area at Sydney
Airport’s Terminal 2 (Budget Domestic – Jetstar & Virgin Blue) will be
relocated from Saturday 26 September 2009 which will provide an additional 44
pickup car spaces (up from 7 to 51 spaces) and increase the amount of time from
2 to 10 minutes a vehicle may remain standing in this area & waiting for an
arriving passenger. In addition the vehicle may remain unattended, while
assisting passengers with their baggage.

The
full media release from Sydney Airport Corporation can be read below:

SydneyAirport’s T2 passenger pick-up
area is to be relocated from Saturday 26 September to provide more spaces, more
free pick-up time and less congestion.

The
change will benefit passengers using T2 – the Domestic Terminal used by Virgin
Blue, Jetstar, Tiger Airways, Qantaslink, Regional Express (REX) and other
regional carriers. There is no change to drop off arrangements at T2 and no
changes to arrangements at T1 (International Terminal) or T3 (Qantas Domestic) –
although T3 passengers may elect to use the new facility.

The new
T2 passenger pick-up area is located across to the right-hand side of Keith Smith Avenue.
It will provide space for 51 vehicles with a free 10 minute pick-up
period. Drivers will be able to leave their vehicles
unattended.

Currently
the T2 passenger pick-up area is at the front of the terminal. It
provides space for just 7 vehicles, operates with a 2 minute pick-up period,
and vehicles can not be left unattended.

T2 Pick-ups

Old Pick-up Area

New Pick-up Area

Vehicle Spaces

7 spaces

51 spaces

Free Time

2 minutes

10 minutes

Vehicles

Must not be left unattended

Can be left unattended

The new
pick-up area will reduce congestion and improve the traffic flow within the
Domestic Precinct. Traffic picking-up from T2 will get in and out quickly
as it will not have to do the full loop and not have to pass T3. As well
as benefiting T2 traffic, this will mean that T3 traffic will be able to get to
their terminal faster as well.

Increasing
the free pick-up period from 2 minutes to 10 minutes will also reduce the
number of cars looping around the road network as they wait for passengers to
exit from T2 – further reducing congestion.

Ideally,
drivers should time their visit to the airport so that the passengers they are
picking up are ready and waiting for them at the new pick-up area. With
the widespread availability of mobile phones and text messaging this is very
easy to do. This reduces congestion and saves time.

Entry
to the new pick-up area is through a ticket operated boom gate with vehicles
that stay beyond the free 10 minutes paying normal car parking rates.

These
changes are being made because the number of passengers using the Domestic
Terminals has increased in recent years. In 2003 there were 15.8 million
and in 2008 there were 22.3 million – an increase of 41% in just five years.

The
forecast is for continued growth in the number of people using the domestic
terminals. This growth has to be managed and these new pick-up
arrangements will make a big difference.